Dear Cardano Community,

Some of you may know us as the Texas Stakehouse - our playful nod to the Lone Star State's reputation for great steaks and Cardano's staking protocol. Today, we want to share an important update about our stake pool's journey.

Our Story So Far

When we launched the Texas Stakehouse with the ticker [100X], our name and ticker each carried special meaning. The pool name playfully referenced our Texas roots and Cardano's staking mechanism, while our ticker "100X" was inspired by Charles Hoskinson's vision of Cardano being 100 times more decentralized and environmentally friendly than Bitcoin - a vision we continue to believe in wholeheartedly.

Some of my fondest memories are of our monthly meetups in Texas - a small but passionate group of people who truly believed in Cardano's purpose and potential. There was something magical about those gatherings, where ideas flowed freely and community bonds were forged. While circumstances changed, that dream of building a strong, local Cardano community never died.

Our journey has been guided by these core beliefs: commitment to decentralization, environmental responsibility, and building a sustainable future for blockchain technology. As we rebuild as BOLT, we're not just restoring a stake pool - we're planning to bring back these community gatherings, built on a more sustainable foundation this time.

Learning From Our Journey

A good friend once told me that certain challenges and downfalls should be studied - and they were right. In the spirit of transparency and growth, let me share our post-mortem analysis.

The Early Days and Lessons

Initially, I launched the pool with more enthusiasm than expertise. We tried everything to build our community - including waking up at 5 AM to create educational content with my friend Dan. While those early morning video sessions didn't gain the traction we hoped for, they represented our genuine commitment to the Cardano ecosystem.

Technical Evolution

What started with cloud infrastructure evolved through several stages:

• Learning basic terminal commands and SSH from supportive community members
• Developing deeper understanding of system security
• Moving to rented bare-metal servers
• Attempting Kubernetes deployment for better management

The Challenges We Faced

The combination of growing infrastructure costs, increasing storage requirements, and technical complexities became overwhelming. The final challenge came in 2022 when our Kubernetes migration attempt, coupled with mounting expenses, led to the pool's closure. We lost 5,000 ADA in an associated wallet - a harsh lesson in the importance of robust backup systems and security protocols.

The Decision to Rebuild

By late 2024, we made the decision to return - not just to run a stake pool again, but to build something stronger and more sustainable. This led to the creation of BOLT.

Introducing BOLT: The FragMint StakePool

Our rebranding to The FragMint StakePool (Ticker: BOLT )⚡️ represents the convergence of our years of experience with an exciting vision for the future.

Professional Infrastructure & Management

• Pool Parameters:
  • Fixed Fee: 340 ADA
  • Margin: 3.5%
  • Pledge: 5,000 ADA

Our pledge strategy has evolved with our journey. The Texas StakeHouse began with a substantial 250,000 ADA pledge, which we gradually used to cover expenses and to build until the pledge dropped to 5,000 ADA as were focused on building and maintaining infrastructure. This evolution taught we that while a high pledge can signal commitment, the true measure of a pool's value lies in its reliability, innovation, and community contribution.

Looking forward, we're committed to a sustainable growth strategy that includes rebuilding our pledge back to its original level of 250,000 ADA over the next 5 years. This return to our initial pledge amount represents both our long-term commitment to the Cardano ecosystem and our determination to come full circle, stronger and wiser than before. This measured approach ensures we can grow responsibly while maintaining operational excellence and continuing to invest in infrastructure and development.

• Professional management through partnership with Lauris from stakepool.247
• Multiple owned bare-metal servers across U.S. colocation centers

Future Vision & Benefits

1. Technical Innovation:
   • Preparation for Layer 2 solutions (Apex Fusion, Midnight)
   • Hydra scalability implementation
   • Future spatial computing integration
2. Gaming Integration (Q3 2025):
   • Direct integration with FragMint games
   • Special access for delegators to gaming features
   • Priority participation in game testing
3. Reward Systems (Starting Q4 2025):
   • NFT rewards for consistent delegators
   • Token rewards based on delegation length and amount
   • Special access to spatial computing experiences

Stay Connected with BOLT

To get the most out of your delegation and stay updated:

1. Subscribe to the FragMint YouTube channel for the latest updates and developments
2. Visit fragmint.gg to explore our ecosystem
3. Follow our journey as we integrate gaming, spatial computing, and staking rewards

Community Building

Starting Q3 2025:

• Return of monthly community meetups in Texas
• Building sustainable local Cardano communities
• In-person educational sessions
• Networking opportunities for developers and enthusiasts
• Bridge-building between traditional tech and Cardano ecosystem

For Delegators

Whether you're a previous Texas Stakehouse delegator or new to our pool, staying connected ensures you'll be first to know about:

• New feature announcements
• Community events
• Technical upgrades

Conclusion

The evolution from Texas StakeHouse to BOLT represents not just a rebranding, but a reimagining of what a Cardano stake pool can be. While our past taught us valuable lessons about infrastructure, security, and sustainability, our future is focused on creating unique value for our delegators through gaming, spatial computing, and innovative reward systems.

Join us on this exciting new chapter. Together, we're not just staking ADA - we're building the future of digital experiences on Cardano.

Follow our progress:

• Website: Fragmint.gg
• YouTube: FragMint Channel
• Ticker: BOLT ⚡️
• Pool ID: 90722261a7047faeaa946b0ee5f9815d7bd21fff076cd9f996e6e907

For technical support or questions about delegation, reach out to our community managers on our website.